Shuttle



H. B. MILLER SHUTTLE Filed July 5, 1955 IN V EN TOR. HARRY B. MILLER A T TORNE Y March 19, 1957 United States SHUTTLE Application July 5, 1955, Serial No. 519,7 7 7 8 Claims. (Ci. 139--196) The present invention relates to a shuttle for a loom adapted to carry a bobbin of yarn and more particularly relates to such a shuttle that will cause a length of yarn to unwind from a bobbin ejected therefrom.

United States Letters Patent No. 2,638,658, issued May 19, 1953, to W. V. Goodhue et al. for Bobbin Stripper, and No. 2,638,937, issued to W. V. Goodhue et al. for Bobbin Stripper disclose mechanisms adapted to be attached to an automatic filling changing loom to receive spent bobbins discharged from the loom shuttle and to strip the residue of yarn therefrom. It is essential to the successful operation of these mechanisms that the free end of the residue of yarn on a bobbin received therein be trailing therefrom for a length of approximately 10 inches to provide a length for the mechanism to grip to start the unwinding operation. In most instances bobbins discharged from an automatic filling changing loom do have the free end of the yarn thereon trailing the required length. However, occasionally a discharged bobbin does not have a suflicient length of yarn trailing therefrom and in those instances the mechanism of Patents Nos. 2,638,658 and 2,638,937 will not function in the intended manner.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a shuttle for use in an automatic filling changing loom that will cause spent bobbins ejected therefrom to have the free end of the residue of yarn thereon trailing in the form of a tail.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shuttle for an automatic filling changing loom having means for causing a bobbin ejected therefrom to rotate to unwind a length of the residue of yarn contained thereon.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shuttle for an automatic filling changing loom having a bumper positioned to be struck by a spent bobbin ejected therefrom to cause said bobbin to rotate.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the product possessing the features, properties and the relation of components which are explained in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the shuttle of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the resilient bumper, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line IIIII1 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing there is disclosed a shuttle 10 for use with an automatic filling changing loom provided with a slot 12 adapted to receive a bobbin containing yarn and having opposed spring clips 14 and 16 atet lee

adapted to hold the butt of said bobbin located in the recesses 18 and 20 respectively adjacent one end of said slot. The structure thus far explained is old and well known in the art and a further description thereof is not deemed necessary.

A bumper or abutment'22 is secured to one side of slot 12 immediately below spring clip 14 so as to project inwardly past spring clip 14 when said clip is distended by a bobbin 24. Bumper 22 is preferably moulded from rubber although it will be understood that it can be formed from a synthetic rubber or any other convenient and suitable resilient friction material.

Bumper or abutment 22 has a right-hand section, as viewed in Fig. 3, adapted to be engaged by an ejected bobbin and a left-hand section which functions to hold said bumper in position. The upper surface 26 of the right-hand section is curved downwardly through substantially degrees of arc to provide a smoothly curved surface to be engaged by the bobbin butt in a manner to be explained more fully hereinafter. Curved surface 26 merges into a vertical surface 28. The left-hand section of bumper 22 extends from the mid-point of the right-hand section and comprises a web 23 having a head 25, in the form of opposed flanges, on its left-hand end.

A slot 30 extends through the left-hand side of shuttle 10 beneath spring clip 14 and has its outer end enlarged to provide the rabbet 32. Bumper 22 and slot 30 have a length slightly greater than the bobbin engaging portion of clip 14 and said bumper is held in position on the shuttle 10 by having its Web 23 seated in the slot 30 and its head 25 seated in the rabbet 32. It is preferred that slot 30 extend through the side of shuttle 10 adjacent the lower edge of recess 18 with the result that the lower wall of said slot is longer than the upper wall thereof. To compensate for this difierence in thickness the upper portion of the right-hand section extends further to the left than does the lower portion so that said upper portion fits snugly against the inner surface of recess 18 and the lower portion fits snugly against the inner surface of the side Wall of the shuttle.

Bumper 22 is so proportioned that the end of curved surface 26 is located beneath one side of a bobbin 24 held in spring clips 14 and 16. When bobbin 24 is ejected from shuttle 10, in the normal operation of a loom, it moves downwardly with considerable velocity and wipes across bumper 22. This wiping action applies a slight friction or holding force to one side of the bobbin causing the bobbin to rotate or roll across said bumper and thus imparts rotation to the bobbin which continues during the free flight of the bobbin from the shuttle to the bobbin stripper mechanism disclosed in the above mentioned Patents Nos. 2,638,658 and 2,638,937. The rotation of the bobbin While in flight causes a length of the residue of yarn carried thereby to unwind to form a tail which trails behind the bobbin and which is caught by the mechanism disclosed in said Patents Nos. 2,638,658 and 2,638,937 to permit said mechanism to unwind said residue from said bobbins.

It will be understood that the yarn contained on bobbin 24 is Wound thereon by rotating the bobbin in a counterclockwise direction so that the clockwise rotation, as viewed in Fig. 3, imparted by bumper 22 will cause said yarn to unwind. In the event it is desired to use bobbins wound in the opposite hand bumper 22 would be fixed to the opposite wall of shuttle 10 to rotate the bobbin in the opposite direction. It will also be understood that the present invention can be employed when it is desired to have no trailing end of yarn extending from a discharged bobbin. In such an event bumper 22 would be fixed to the side of the shuttle that will cause it to rotate 3 the discharged bobbin in a direction to wind the trailing end of yarn.

Since certain changes may be made in the above prodri'ed by said shuttle ahd'proje'cting into the path trayersed by a bobbin as it is ejected from the shuttle.

2; Iii at Shuttle 215' Set forth inl c1aim 1 Wlieriri Said abutment isrpositiotied to engage one side of an ejected bobbin to cause said bobbin to rotate as it traverses said path; P V

' 3'. Iii a shuttle as set forth in claim 2 wherein said abutment is formed of resilient friction material.

4; A shuttle for use in a loom wherein bobbins are ejected from said shuttle and trave'i in free fijg'ht there from; ineans in said shuttle for gripping the butt of a bobbin to hold said bobbin in said shuttle during a weaving operation and permitting said bobbin to be ejected therefrom, and an abutment carried by said shuttle and 4 located adjacent said means iii a position to be engages by said butt when said bobbin is ejected to cause said bobbin to rotate during said free flight;

5. In a shuttle as set forth in claim 4 wherein said abutment is positioned to be engaged by one side of said butt. 7

6. In a shuttle as set forth in claim 5 wherein said abutment is formed of resilient friction material.

7. A shuttle for use in a 160m wherein bobbins are ejected from said shuttle and travel in free flight therefrom, a pair of opposedfspring clips mounted in said shuttle for gripping the butt. of'a bobbinlto hold said bobbin in said shuttle during a weaving operation and permitting said bobbin to be ejected therefrom, a block of resilient friction material carried by said shuttle beneath one of said clips and projecting inwardly beneath said one clip to a position where it can beengaged by one side of said butt when said bobbin is ejected-to cause said bobbinto rotate during said free flight. v

8. A shuttle asset forth in claim 7 wherein the surface of said block of resilient material adjacent said one clip is curved downwardly.

No references cited. 

